Candidate Charged With Revenge Porn After Wife's Pic Posted Online

David Martinez was accused of abusing his wife, who filed a restraining order against him. After that, a nude image of her appeared on his campaign website.

St. Paul Mayor wants City Council Ward 4 candidate David Martinez to remove himself from the race amid a tumultuous July. Martinez posted a topless pic of his wife on his blog as well as her restraining order against him. He was recently banned from city libraries. @WCCOpic.twitter.com/zoyiRQVwmP

After the restraining order was granted, an image of Martinez’s wife appeared in a blog post on his campaign website. It remained on the site for 33 hours until it was removed by WordPress administrators on Sunday.

Martinez claimed that the image was posted by his wife, and not himself, alleging she has all of his passwords to the site and wanted to sabotage his campaign. However, this wouldn’t be the first time that Martinez has acted out, casting serious doubts on his claims that his wife’s image was posted by her.

Martinez, for instance, was arrested for shouting expletives at librarians on July 5 at the George Latimer Central Library, which led to a general ban from city libraries for him. The following day, he attempted to jump over a partition between a concessions stand and a bar at a Minnesota Twins game. When he was caught, he threatened physical violence against security personnel.

Despite the latest charges of revenge porn, Martinez said he intends to stay in the race, even as other political leaders in the city are urging him to drop out.

It seems as if Martinez is also refusing to take responsibility for any of his behavior.

Hopefully, the people of the ward Martinez is running for will deny him the opportunity to serve. His demeanor toward others, and the abuses he has allegedly committed against his wife, render him unqualified, plain and simple.

Purportedly using his campaign site to get revenge on his wife — and then placing the blame on her for the image being posted — is even more reason to oppose his candidacy. What kind of leader would Martinez be if he were allowed to serve? A dishonest one, for sure, and a callous one who would do whatever it took to pin the blame on others.

Martinez isn’t likely to win the seat he’s seeking, and that’s a good thing. Unfortunately, individuals with similar demeanors already serve in posts far more powerful than the St. Paul city council.